10 Places You Can Go to Celebrate Black History Month, Now and After Covid

Museums, monuments, historic homes, and parks throughout the United States hold the rich cultural background and achievements of African Americans over the centuries. Our legacy is often overlooked, but this is a space where it can be acknowledged and celebrated. Here are 10 places that you can go to celebrate Black History Month! Though some of these places are either closed temporarily due to covid, or still in the works, we made sure to mention ones that are open for exploring right now! 

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Washington, D.C.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) was established on December 19, 2003, and it located in the National Mall in Washington D.C., in the United States. It is the only national museum created exclusively to house documentation of African American life, history, and culture. As of 2021, the museum has collected over 36,000 artifacts. Though the museum is not currently open due to covid, the NMAAHC is offering virtual tours and exhibits that can be viewed at anytime and from anywhere. 

Beale Street Historic District

Memphis, Tennessee

Beale Street is a street located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, running from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately 1.8 miles. This neighborhood hub is where the greatest early blues, jazz, and R&B music was created. Legends like B.B. King, and Louis Armstrong kickstarted their careers performing in the district's well known clubs. Beale Street was also a haven for African Americans migrating from smaller towns. Most of the building in the district are the same ones that existed centuries before.

African Meeting House

Boston, Massachusetts 

This place of worship is located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest historically Black churches in the country. Built in 1806, the building served as a church, school, and meeting house where Black community members of Boston gathered to organize a plan to abolish slavery. 

International African American Museum

Charleston, South Carolina

This museum of African American History is currently being built in Charleston, South Carolina, on the site where Gadsden's Wharf, the drop off point of up to 40% of all American slaves, once was. After 20 years of preparation, construction finally began in January 2020. The new museum will be used to honor the untold stories of African Americans, and their journey to the sacred site of Gadsden's Wharf. It is set to open sometime in 2022. 

Museum of the African Diaspora

San Francisco, California

The Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, California, is a museum created to document the art, history, and culture of the African Diaspora. Many people visit all throughout the year to appreciate the contemporary art showcased throughout the museum, but you can also explore exhibits of slave narratives, and even ones about the different holidays celebrated throughout the African Diaspora. 

Harriet Tubman Historical Park

Dorchester County, Maryland

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park stretches across 480-acres of land in the U.S. state of Maryland. The National park commemorates the life of former slave Harriet Tubman, who prior to the civil war became and activist in the Underground railroad. Here you can experience her home, where she was born into slavery, grew into the determined woman who wouldn't stop her fight for freedom, and returned to rescue her family and friend to being them to freedom. 

National Museum of African American Music

Nashville, Tennessee

The National Museum of African American Music was recently established in the Fall of 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. It showcases musical genres, creates, inspired, and influenced by African Americans. This is the first and only museum of its kind. If you're able to visit you might just be surprised by the specific genres African Americans played a part in influencing from the very start! 

Mississippi Civil Rights Museum 

Jackson, Mississippi

Located in Jackson, Mississippi, The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is dedicated to documenting, exhibiting the land, and educating the public about the American Civil Rights Movement between 1945 and 1975 in Mississippi. The museum takes an in depth look at the states controversial past, especially during the height of Jim Crow segregation laws in the 20th century. Given the states strict segregation laws, protests such as the Freedom Rides and others were held there and are remembered in various exhibits at the museum. 

Pan African Heritage World Museum 

Cape Coast, Ghana

The Pan African Heritage World Museum is still in the developmental stage with a projected completion date of 2022. The museum will be dedicated to sharing the true story of Africa and its people. It will be a virtual as well as physical space based in Ghana, West Africa, so there will be no traveling necessary to enjoy the benefits of this new monument!

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

 Detroit, Michigan

Founded in 1965, The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is located in Cultural Center of Detroit Michigan. The museum holds the worlds largest permanent exhibit on African American culture. Charles Howard Write is a successful Detroit Physician and civil rights activist, and he decided that African Americans needed a space to preserve, document, and educate themselves about their culture and history.